The school could let its basketball coach go, Matta could decide to stop or another opportunity could pull him away. Given his 10-year success, option one isn't on the table at the moment. His friendship with Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens could make option three interesting as it relates to the NBA, but Matta swatted that idea away.

Which leaves option two.

Thinking of the future, Matta immediately brought up a date from the past.

June 16, 2007.

"It's been seven years and nine days since it happened," Matta said late last month, the countdown always there, remembered with a moment's notice.

That's the date his back surgery went wrong and changed his life, leaving his right foot not fully functional. But it didn't necessarily change how he sees his future, though that once was the case. At age 47, Matta knows he won't coach until he's 80, he promises that. But he doesn't know what else would stop him.

"It used to be health," Matta told cleveland.com. "But I feel great. I was always worried if something else went wrong.

"But I've adapted, which was not easy at first, but now it's sort of like, 'You're going to limp and you've got to put on your brace, and away you go.'"

(Note to readers: This is the second part of a four-part series based off an extensive interview with Matta this summer. Part one on Matta's past ran last week, and we apologize for the delay getting to part two. Parts three and four, on his life and the current team, are still on the way.)

Matta called Stevens the opposing coach he's still closest to, and when the time came, Matta said he advised Stevens to take his shot.

"He was always intrigued by the NBA, and from the standpoint of leaving Butler, the one thing I told him was if it doesn't work, you'll be able to get any job in college you want," Matta said.

But it's not a shot that Matta ever wants.

"I love my job here, and the NBA thing, it's like (former OSU assistant, now Sacramento Kings assistant) Chris Jent is an NBA guy. He had been in it, he had played, he had coached, it's a different world," Matta said. "Now, the thing that every college coach will tell you is, 'God, I'd love to do nothing but basketball 365 days a year and not have to deal with the other stuff.' There's times when you're hopping on the redeye (for recruiting) and thinking, 'Whew, man, this isn't basketball.'

"But for me, I like the college experience, what this university can provide kids, not just football or basketball players, but kids. This place is the most amazing thing I've ever seen in terms of what it does for its students, the opportunities presented to them.

"I like that phase of it, I like seeing the guys come in and becoming young men and hopefully going on to pursue their careers."

As Matta looked ahead, he talked more about what could be in store at Ohio State and for the rest of his basketball career. If he stays long enough and wins enough (20 more years at his current pace and he'll win 825 games at Ohio State and 927 overall), he could have a road named for him one day.

On whether this will be his final coaching job, with Matta becoming a long-term coach in one place, like Syracuse's Jim Boeheim or Duke's Mike Krzyzewksi:

View full sizeThad Matta (center) said former OSU assistant Chris Jent (left), now with the Sacramento Kings, is an NBA guy, but Matta doesn't see himself that way.File photo

"You hope this is the last place, and that I can do that in terms of winning a ton of games and hopefully bringing this place a national championship. Yeah, I would love to have that, but in today's society, things can change so drastically, and if you look across college basketball, how many guys have been at one place for more than 10 years? It's astonishing.

On his reputation among his colleagues, and whether he cares what it is:

"I don't care. The one thing that I hope people would say is he cares about the welfare of college basketball. And I think one of the things I always tried to do is help the game in terms of bringing young coaches in and getting them in position to be head coaches and expand the game of basketball.

"I've got a lot of introvert tendencies, in terms of I'll just keep quiet and do my thing. I probably turn down eight out of 10 interviews. That's not important. The marketing side of it is really not. I just want to do my job the best I can."

On whether he sees himself changing as a person over his career, or whether the job is changing:

"I'm the same person I was at age 32 when I first got the Butler job. I'm the same person I am today. Now, people paint you in a different perspective because everyone thinks they know you or can judge you. But I think one of the biggest changes I have seen is coaches dealing with the social media aspect. Just in terms of the outside influences that can affect a player, that can affect a team, that can affect the chemistry. That's probably the most challenging thing we deal with on a daily basis.

"Coach (Jim) Tressel and I used to laugh about this. The perception is we are with these guys 24 hours a day, and we're not. And all the things that are going on on the outside, you've got to get that out in the first 20 minutes you're with them and get them refocused on what we are trying to get accomplished here. And that's the challenge. But with that said, it's the old Phil Jackson thing, you always look at things through your players' eyes.

"Like I tell parents, nobody wants your son to play better more than I do. My life is on the line. So I think I am the same person, but in terms of how the job has changed, it's completely different now."

On the one thing that would make him retire:

"If this becomes a business to me, I'm done. Because you are dealing with kids. And that's probably a little bit of the misperception nowadays, because of how kids are put on these pedestals - they're kids.

"But the day that it becomes a job, that it becomes where I don't cherish the time with the kids, then I would say it's probably time to find something else to do. But I don't feel like I've ever worked a day in my life. Even through the dog days, you're on the grind but you're excited about the next day and the next opportunity to right the ship."

On what a national title would be like at Ohio State:

"You have windows of opportunity, and you know that as a coach. Obviously, '07 was a great opportunity. A couple of years ago (in 2012) when we went to the Final Four (and lost to Kansas), it was probably going to be tough to beat Kentucky in the championship, they were that good.

"The year we were 34-3 (in 2011), that was an opportunity. We just had a bad 20 minutes of basketball (against Kentucky in the Sweet Sixteen) and got beat on a last-second shot.

"So in terms of what it would mean to the university, it's been so long, and there's been so many ups and down to Ohio State basketball, I would hope it would make a lot of people happy.

"I hope people are proud of what we have today. Ultimately, that would probably be the pinnacle of Ohio State basketball, in terms of you're looking at 10 years of steady success, there haven't been too many dips, but that would be the ultimate."

And if you won a national title, you'd still be the same guy?

"I'd become the most egotistical (jerk) you've ever seen."

But really, would it change you at all?

"I want the players to experience it. For me, I really don't care. I care, obviously, but I see what our guys do on a daily basis. And everybody (around the country) is doing it. But you get groups of guys sometimes and you fall in love with that group of guys. You fall in love with the dynamics of the team, and you hurt for them when things don't go well. And you're elated for them when things go well.

"So one thing I've always tried to do, I do enjoy myself. I'm not afraid to lose. You've seen that. I'm going for it, and I want our players to play that way. We're going after this thing, and we're going to let the chips fall where they may."

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